Welcome to the Northwest Indiana Spinal Cord Injury Group.
This site was set up to keep people informed about the activities of the group. Whether it be the days and times of our meetings, events and outings, or new information about a cure for paralysis; it will be posted on this site. Our hopes are that the group grows and more people feel empowered to live happy, healthy, productive lives. Please feel free to leave comments and/or contact us at nwiscig@gmail.com.

Terra Incognita 2007

Terra Incognita is a feature length documentary film and companion civic engagement campaign featuring the story of Dr. Jack Kessler, the current chair of Northwestern University's Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurological Sciences, and his daughter, Allison, an undergraduate student at Harvard University. When Kessler was invited to head up the Neurology Department at Northwestern, his focus was on using stem cells to help cure diabetes. However, soon after his move to Chicago, Allison -- then age 15, was injured in a skiing accident and paralyzed from the waist down. In the moments following the accident, Dr. Kessler made the decision to change the focus of his research to begin looking for a cure for spinal cord injuries using embryonic stem cells. Through Kessler's story, we bring the stem cell debate to the public for discussion. The film follows the constantly evolving interplay between the promise of new discoveries, the controversy of modern science and the resilience and courage of people living every day with devastating disease and injury.

Please contact us if you'd like to host a community screening of the film.

I will most likely be going to see this movie again. It is a great documentary that is both touching and informative. Contact me at nwisci@gmail.com for more information about possibly riding together.

The film will also be broadcast nationally on PBS' Independent Lens on January15th.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

I would like to know who is interested in Scuba Diving lessons with the Scuba Tank, here in Valparaiso. They have offered an Experience Scuba Clinic to the NWISCI Group and maybe special lessons to interested parties. It sounds like a great life experience to me. Anyone interested can contact me at nwiscig@gmail.com for more information. Their website is www.scubatank.com, check it out.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Saturday, November 3rd was the last meeting. We had six people attend. It was a good time. We talked about everything from the SCI Walk, to going to school, to parenting, to falling out of your chair, to ADA and wheelchair accessible vs. handicap accessible, to water skiing and snow skiing, to scientists/researchers, to relationships, to insurance/Medicare. Just to name a few topics.